Prevalence of Chlamydia trachomatis among women attending gynecology and infertility clinics in Gaza, Palestine.
BACKGROUND
Chlamydia trachomatis is an obligate intracellular bacterium characterized by a biphasic developmental cycle of replication. The organism is recognized as one of the major causes of sexually transmissible human bacterial infection throughout the world. Since there have been no previous studies dealing with chlamydial diagnosis in Palestine, this study was conducted to determine the prevalence of C. trachomatis infection among women attending gynecology and infertility clinics.


METHODS
Endocervical swabs were collected from 109 women, aged 18-52 years (median 29 years), attending gynecology and infertility clinics in Gaza. These specimens were processed using molecular (polymerase chain reaction, PCR) and enzyme immunoassay (EIA; IDEIA PCE Chlamydia) techniques.


RESULTS
The results obtained show that the overall prevalence rate of C. trachomatis was 20.2%. The sensitivity was 73% for the EIA, 86% for the MOMP (major outer membrane protein gene)-based PCR, and 100% for the plasmid-based PCR. Meanwhile the specificity was 94% for the EIA, 98% for the plasmid-based PCR, and 100% for the MOMP-based PCR. In multivariate analysis, only cervical discharge was significantly associated with positivity for C. trachomatis (adjusted odds ratio 5.6, 95% confidence interval 2.0-15.5; p=0.001).


CONCLUSIONS
The study revealed that a significant proportion of Palestinian women expressed evidence of exposure to C. trachomatis. Women with cervicitis are more likely to have been previously infected or exposed to Chlamydia infection. Furthermore, PCR proved to be superior and more efficient in the diagnosis of C. trachomatis than EIA.
El Qouqa
Iyad A
IA
Medical Technology Department, Military Medical Services, Gaza, Palestine. Iyad776@yahoo.com
Shubair
Mohammad E
ME
Al Jarousha
Abdel Moati
AM
Sharif
Fadel A
FA
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000554:Ambulatory Care Facilities; D002690:Chlamydia Infections / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002692:Chlamydia trachomatis / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007247:Infertility, Female / Q000382:microbiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D008877:Middle East / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D014932:Women's Health Services; D055815:Young Adult